He has played keyboards, woodwinds and writing music for a long list of assignments, including Grammy, Academy Award, Emmy, and Golden Globe winning media and soundtracks for artists such as Barbra Streisand, Shirley Bassey, Michael Feinstein, Christina Aguilera, Joe Pass, Plácido Domingo, Barry Manilow, Natalie Cole, and many others.
[1] As a pianist and jazz artist, "(his) personal approach mixes aspects of Bud Powell's complexity, Oscar Peterson's ardent swing and Bill Evans' exploratory harmonies.
Ranier established a reputation primarily on piano as a jazz performer with vibist Dave Pike and saxophonist Pete Christlieb, and co-led a band with drummer Sherman Ferguson and bassist John Heard.
He has gone on to work with the Terry Gibbs-Buddy DeFranco Sextet, George Coleman, Lew Tabackin, Eddie Daniels, Lanny Morgan and a long list of other jazz musicians.
[3] Live jazz performance and the art of improvising is important to Ranier: "it's a combination of both thinking and feeling...(the) music is complex enough that there is a lot of thought going on...you're trying to project something, listening from deep within you.
"[3] Ranier's list of studio work for television, movies, and entertainment is quite extensive, including The Young and the Restless (1986),[6] Noises Off (1992), Matlock, Diagnosis: Murder,[3] Trial and Error (1997),[3] Letters from a Killer (1998), and Sideways (2004).